P20B worth of Treasury bills up for auction

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is scheduled to hold on Monday its first government debt auction since the central bank started tightening monetary settings amid shifting conditions overseas.

At its first auction for the second quarter, the BTr plans to bid out a total of P20 billion worth of short-term treasury bills.

Some P8 billion will be in the form of 90-day T-Bills, the shortest tenor on offer.

A total of P6 billion in 181-day bills and another P6 billion in one-year IOUs will cover the balance.

At the last T-bill auction, rates for 91-day paper fell 45.8 basis points, but yields on the longer-dated 182-day and one-year bills rose 139.9 basis points and 78.6 basis points, respectively on heightened risk aversion among investors.

Monday’s auction will be the first since the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) started adjusting policy settings to mop up liquidity from the economy and pre-empt any possible inflationary pressures that may build up later in the year.